Off to school this morning on the bike, since we finally got a break in the weather after 2 weeks of rainy stuff.  Dad is eager to get out as well with spring almost here and fine weather on the horizon!

Well, on August 9th my wife was supposed to take our daughter and a friend to this show, but she wasn’t feeling well so this task fell to me.  This is a really different kind of event; like going to Comic-Con back in the USA.  The girls were really into anime and they wasted no time in ditching the old man and doing their own thing at the show.  So I took a few pictures just so I could say I experienced this thing.  I know NOTHING about anime characters, Japanese cartoons, or any of that stuff.  But I was impressed with the creativity shown by the kids in costume, and the artwork skills demonstrated.  It’s possible that I was the only guy with gray hair there, though!  Our favorite costume was the girl who transformed herself into a complex gray robot (see below).  But I’m sorry…that dude in the pink dress with the Batman mask was just plain strange!

 

 

 

While the girls went to a Japanese bath house, I took the train to Shibuya to check out what Japan looks like on a rainy Saturday night.

Even with the weather, it was a fascinating experience!  Funny how amidst a sea of people I still felt like a minority (which I was).  It’s a feeling I never have in the USA or Australia, and provides some good perspective on how big and diverse this world is.

 

 

After an exhausting travel day, we wasted no time in getting out to see some of the sights here.  Took the train from Shinagawa up to the Akihabara station, and then went to a store popular with comic book and other geeky things Japanese.  After that, I explored the big Japanese garden that is surrounded by the Prince hotel group.  We’ll be seeing more extraordinary gardens in a few days but the grounds here capture the feeling

of really being in Japan for me.

This was a big milestone for our family; our daughter can now give us a broad smile with no braces showing!

The other side of the harbour, that is!  Took another ride from Watson’s Bay to the south, this time exploring some beaches in that direction.  Of course, things are just as spectacular there as they are up where we live in the Northern Beaches.  People were enjoying some late-fall unseasonably warm weather on the beach.   Here are some photos from my ride that include some well-known landmarks in Sydney.

 

I finally have some photos from our anniversary escape up to the “shire” of Bangalow, New South Wales.  This place is about 40 minutes from the Queensland border, and was just a beautiful place to explore.  The resort is located on the side and top of a large hill, which made for great scenery and restful tranquility.  They even had their own herb garden for their chefs to use in preparing some great organic and healthy meals for us.  It was a pretty amazing experience, although I noted that I was the only guy there!  

Had a nice little 19k cycle ride from Sydney out to Watson’s Bay. Was wonderful to see all the neighborhoods on that side of the harbour for a change! But I ran out of daylight so decided to just take the ferry back. I’m very glad that bicycles are welcome on NSW ferries!</p>

Went 26.7 km on Sunday (16.6 miles) and could have done more but for the downpour that drenched me…sopping wet! I had rain in my eyes, water coming off the front tire in my face, and water coming up off the rear wheel and soaking my rear end. Coulda stopped, but figured what the heck I’ll just ride it out. That’s less than half what I’ll be doing in about 3 weeks, but nice to know endurance wasn’t an issue today. And for the organized ride, the course will go a lot quicker for me because the roads will be blocked off with no card, and the route will be all laid out so I won’t have to stop to check where I am or take a wrong turn. My goal is to get on the bike more often this week…weather permitting!